Nemesis List by R. J. Frith [Book Review]

Fragmented debut

The Nemesis List is the story about Jeven Jones a young man with mysterious powers he has little control over and Frank Pak, a jaded ex military man hired to escort Jones who he thinks is a runaway back to his loving family. But it is obviously not as expected. The Nemesis List takes place in a dystopian future where Man has interstellar civilization but the government restricts and controls all technical and scientific advancements. There are always people who want change or are willing to go to great and illegal lengths to make money. So there are research ships out there beyond the border outside government control. Jeven mystical powers are the results of illegal and ruthless experiments made on one of those ships. This is about the mystery of Jeven Jones past and the men on the list he is killing one by one.

The Nemisis List looked like a promising debut by R. J. Frith and in many respects it is but I had some issues with it. I wish it was a better book but while the blurb is quite compelling the story fails to deliver in full. I enjoyed bits and pieces but the continuity of the story felt a bit off at times, the leaps in time especially. The two main characters are well developed and to my liking but the supporting casts come across a bit stereotypical.

I like the ideas the author has and I like the characters but something should have been done about the fragmentation. Maybe some of the fault is in the editing or maybe the continuity never was there.

The Nemesis List feels like the first book in a series since it left a lot unexplained but there is no indication it is so anywhere? I might buy it if it is a paperback but I am not sure.

Please remember this is just my opinion, I have the uttermost respect for R. J. Frith and feel real bad for having issues with her book. I wish I felt differently.

Humanity has expanded into the stars but at the price of its freedom. An autocratic and overbearing Government now rigidly controls every technical and scientific advancement. Deviation is punishable by death. Out on the edges of space, criminals thwart the law, making money out of illegal tech, their ships jumping from galaxy to galaxy to avoid detection. Ex-soldier Frank Pak doesn’t care about politics or breaking the law, he just wants to keep his ship running. When he’s offered a contract to escort a runaway back home to his loving family – he doesn’t ask questions. But his cargo is more dangerous than he realizes. Jeven Jones is no ordinary passenger. A result of illegal human experimentation, he’s a fast-tracked evolutionary leap into future. Thanks to his ability for perfect recall and a series of mental skills that he has no control over, Jones is a wanted man. The Government wants him dead. A fledgling revolution want to use him to unlock every advancement the Government has ever denied them. If Jones lives he’ll start a war. If he dies the entire future of humanity dies with him…